Chinese doctors remove spider in woman's ear canal after 5 days

A woman who reported at China's Changsha Central Hospital, complaining about itching in the left ear, was terrifed when doctors told her that the cause of the itching was a spider that had been living in her ear canal for five days.

Ninemsn reports that according to RedNet, the woman Ms. Lee, went to the Changsha Central Hospital in Hunan Wednesday. According to Fox News, a medical photograph of the woman's ear canal revealed "a stocky, hairy, four-eyed arachnid peering out at the camera, much to doctors' and the patient's surprise."

The Huffington Post reports that according to Xiaoxiang Morning News, rather than trying to force out the spider with a probing object , Dr Liu Sheng and his colleagues filled Ms. Lee's ear canal with saline. They were afraid that poking an object into the patient's ear could make the spider "instinctively drill its barbs deeper" into her skin. The doctors also remarked it was lucky the patient had not compounded the problem by trying to scratch her itching ears.

Ms. Lee reportedly wept with gratitude when she was told the spider had been removed.

Gawker reports Dr Liu Sheng and his colleagues speculated that the spider crawled into Lee's ear while she was sleeping. Shortlist.com comments that the woman's experience appears to confirm the saying that in a lifetime the average individual may "eat up" to eight spiders while sleeping.

For those who are arachnophobic, this is a shudder-inducing scenario to contemplate.

Spider in Chinese woman's ear canal

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The photo (see image above) shows it wasn't just a small spider, but a big one! Ninemsn reports that University of Florida entomology professor Philip Koehler, said insects crawling into human ears was not just an urban myth. The professor said spiders occasionally crawl into human orifices for shelter and warmth.

The Huffington Post recalls that recently, a six-year-old Isaak Lasson, carried a piece of lego up his nose for three years, and incredibly, a "vicar... arrived at hospital with a potato stuck up his backside. (...He'd been hanging curtains and fell backwards onto it, OK?)."

Following reports that last July was the hottest in US history, CNN reports that spiders and other bugs are breeding in greater numbers due to warm weather and drought conditions. Jim Frederick, an entomologist and wildlife ecology expert with the National Pest Management Association, reportedly said: "All insects are cold-blooded, so in extreme heat they develop quicker, which results in more generations popping up now compared to previous summers."